Simply Average
by TheFallenAngel55
Summary: 16-year-old Crystal Olor had a perfectly normal life, that is until a mysterious new kid comes to town. Immediatly, Crystal knows there is something different about him, but her friends are convinced it's nothing. What will happen as this new boy suddenly turns Crystal's world upside-down? Rated T for content and slight language. Please enjoy:
1. Prologue

Prologue

Abnormal was a major understatement. What I was looking at now was beyond that. This was far past strange and brimming on the borderline of insanity. Weird things had been happening ever since this kid showed up, and now this? It was like humanity took a wrong turn into oblivion.

Ok, before you start asking questions like 'Who is this crazy girl?' and 'What in heavens name is she talking about?' let me tell you something. One, I'm not crazy; I'm just considerably unstable. And two, well I don't know what I'm talking about because I'm still not entirely sure if what I'm looking at is real.

To answer that first question, my name is Crystal Olor, or Crys for short. I'm a sixteen-year-old eleventh grade girl who, until recently, had a perfectly normal life. Normal school. Normal neighborhood. Normal friends… more or less. Absolutely and beautifully ordinary. Then, the new kid came to town. I wasn't sure what, but something about him caused a hundred little mental red flags to go up. I tried to avoid him, but apparently something really wanted to mess up my life and our paths crossed. One time I let my self be lured into his trap and I knew after that, my life would never be normal again.


	2. Chapter 1: School Wonderland

Chapter 1School Wonder Land

It was another peaceful winter day in lovely Northern Virginia. A light snow descended upon the school grounds of Tobith High School, perfect for sledding down the steep hill at the edge of the blacktop. Of course, there were no kids outside playing or throwing snowballs, for THS had a strict policy against that anyway. On a beautiful day like this, where else would we be but stuck inside this prison our parents called a school?

We stood in a crooked line against a wall in the North hallway of the 11th grade house, most of us slouching and half asleep. I glanced around at the weary faces of my fellow classmates standing on either side of me, and then back at the conflict in front of us. My science teacher and my dean were kneeling on the floor on either side of a slinky arguing about the best way to show us a standing wave. Sighing and brushing my fingers through my ash blonde hair, I glanced at my friend, Kaliger, standing beside me; her ear-buds hidden underneath her lavender pigtails. She was slouched over with her forest-green eyes trained on the floor and her fingers tapping on her leg to the rhythm of her music. I nudged her gently with my elbow and she looked up, pulling one ear-bud out. She raised her eyebrows slightly and I leaned closer to her.

"You know, I could probably go my whole entire life without knowing how to make a standing wave and still be just as successful as if I did." I whispered to her and she rolled her eyes and nodded in agreement.

"Ridiculous, isn't it? I'm spending more of my life here than I will in college." We both laughed quietly and Kali returned to her music. I glanced anxiously at the clock and, to my relief, the bell rang at that moment. I nudged Kaliger and she stuffed her I-pod into her pocket. We hurried down the hall, leaving Ms. Nemt and the dean to argue. Kaliger followed me through the loud crowds of kids and rushing teachers; hurrying to the break-room just before their next class. We were about to escape the mess when I remembered something. I grabbed Kaliger's arm and she spun around to face me.

"Kali, I forgot my book for free period." She just rolled her eyes.

"Can't you just use one from the library?" She asked over the noise and I shook my head; one thing I couldn't afford to be was up to my waist in overdue books like last year. Kali sighed and we ran back into the sea of students.

Finally, we made it to the library just as the late bell rang and sat down before the librarian saw us. After she checked if we all had our books, I quietly took out a piece of paper and a pencil. On it I wrote: 'Where's Nico?', and slid it toward Kali. She shrugged, scribbled something on it and passed it back. I read: 'He should be here. I saw him this morning.' I found this strange; Nico wasn't exactly known for his punctuality, but he'd always let Kaliger know if he was going to be late. Just then, he slipped into the library and sat down across from us without anyone noticing.

"Mr. Seltsammach!" Well, almost without anyone noticing. I saw Nico flinch and turn around to find a very unpleased looking librarian standing behind him.

"Yes ma'am?" He asked carefully.

"Don't you 'yes ma'am?' me! Why are you late?" Nico lowered his cocoa-brown eyes and Kali and I sunk down in our chairs. Everyone in the library was looking at us now.

"My locker was jammed…" He mumbled at the floor.

"That's the third time in a row! I've had enough of your tardiness! You have detention with me all next week!" She nodded with finality and stomped away. Nico groaned and put his head down on the table. Kaliger rubbed his back reassuringly and I sighed. Poor kid; as if he didn't have enough to worry about. I glanced around the library and saw that most kids had gone back to their reading, but a few, including a sophomore I knew named Kyle, gave us sympathetic looks. I gave a sad smile to them and turned my attention to my book. I pretended to read while I thought about how much I couldn't wait for tonight.


	3. Chapter 2: Friendly Reunion

Chapter 2 Friendly Reunion

"Should I wear the purple outfit with the pink design, or the pink outfit with the purple design?" Kaliger asked, holding both outfits beside each other in front of a long mirror on my closet door.

"Does it really matter? Nico is your boyfriend and if he really likes you, he won't care what you're wearing." I replied from across my room where I was sitting at my desk trying to finish my last calculus problem. I really hated homework on Fridays.

"Yes, I know, but would you just help me pick?" I rolled my eyes and spun my office chair around. She was facing me now with an optimistic smile on her face. I observed the clothing for a moment; truthfully, I didn't like either outfit, but of course that had a lot to do with the fact that I hated both pink and purple. Finally, I pointed at one randomly.

"Pink with purple." I said simply and her eyes lit up. Turning back around, I continued to stare at the jumbled mess of numbers on my paper. I heard the bathroom door close and I gave a sigh of relief; I was alone at last. I pushed my self away from my desk, got up from the chair and walked over to my closet. I angled the large mirror so I could see my whole body and looked my self over. Unlike my pink obsessed friend, I was wearing a simple black North Face jacket, half zipped, over a white tank top and a black mini skirt. My hair, of course, was down, parted on the side, and hung loosely over the right side of my face, not covering it all the way, but just enough to make me look mysterious. If I thought hard enough, I could hear exactly what my mother would be saying right now. 'You should try to look nice wherever you go, just incase.' or 'You should wear something that actually covers you up, dear.' and that always left me blushing. It wasn't like going out with friends was a formal occasion, and besides, I wasn't trying to impress anyone. Kaliger came out of the bathroom with her pink and purple outfit on looking perkier than ever. She came over and tugged me toward the door.

"Come on. We're gonna be late." She hurried down stairs. I just smiled and followed her. When I reached the front door, Kaliger was already outside getting into my black Chevy Camaro. I heard my mother in the kitchen and I shouted so she could hear me.

"Bye mom! I'm leaving!" Not sure if she heard me and not waiting to find out, I closed the door behind me and walked down the stone path. It was a peaceful night, but unfortunately Kaliger was always a bit impatient and started waving me over. I rolled my eyes and got into the driver's side. Not a minute after I started down the road, Kaliger started talking over the radio about tonight's plans.

"Ok, so first we pick up Nico. Then, we'll meet Ebin and Kiban at the Pizza Palace. After we eat and hang out for a while, we'll drop Nico off at his house and I'll come home with you." She ran through everything as if she had a mental checklist.

"So, your mom said it was alright for you to stay the night?" Kaliger's mom had never liked me very much and tried to get Kali and me to stop hanging out multiple times. Of course, all attempts failed.

"Actually, no. Mum is out of town and you know my dad has always liked you." She smiled and then started listing things we were planning to do over the weekend. I tried to tune Kali out a bit and focus on the road ahead. I hadn't meant to, but at some point I think I zoned out and before I knew it, Nico's house came into view. I pulled up the driveway and I was about to turn off the car when Kaliger tugged on my sleeve.

"He's coming out now." She pointed to the house and sure enough, a tall brown haired boy in a black hoodie and blue jeans appeared in the doorway. I heard someone yelling from inside and he bolted from the house as a frying pan flew out the door after him. He quickly got in the back seat and I took off down the street. When we were safely around the corner, I slowed down and glanced at him in the rear view mirror. His normally olive skin was pale and his dark brown eyes were wide as they watched out the window at the houses and cars passing by. Kaliger shifted in her seat and reached back to rest her hand on his trembling one. He jumped slightly and looked at her, calming down a bit.

"Another rough night, Nico?" I asked and focused my gaze back on the road. He nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Steadying himself, he tired again.

"My folks were fighting again. I didn't want anything to do with it so I went in my room. Then, when I went to leave, ma tried to stop me 'cause I think pa left and she got to drinkin' again. I was at the door and she started telling me how I was a lazy bum and I should get out and stay out. So, I left and she threw my pa's good pan at me." I nodded sadly and we were all quiet for a while. Nico always had trouble with his folks, but lately it had gotten worse. Ever since his mom fell off the wagon again and his dad got fired, his life has been a living hell. It was rather frustrating that I couldn't sympathize with him because I had never been in his position. Kaliger tried, but I knew even she could never feel what he felt, like your own family was against you and friends were the only ones you had left.

I pulled into a little parking lot in front of a small pizza shop; the neon open sign glowing brightly through the dirtied front window and several teenagers hanging out just outside the door. I shut off the car and Nico and I got out. He ran to the other side of the car to let Kaliger out. He took her hand in his and led her toward the door. I smiled and walked after them, why couldn't all guys be like that? Nico opened the door and held it for both of us as we stepped inside. I was immediately met by the wonderfully warm smell of freshly cooked pizza and cheap greasy fries. There were several kids our age hanging around the counter or hogging up booths, ignoring waiters telling them they had to order something or leave. I took a deep breath; this place was a teenage paradise. Kaliger broke me from my daydream and pulled Nico and me over toward a corner booth where a girl and a boy sat. If I didn't know them already, I'd find several interesting things about them. First of all, they were almost identical. They had the same dark brown hair and black eyes, the same facial structure and even expression. It was obvious to anyone that they were twins. We reached the booth and Kaliger pushed me into the seat next to the boy so we were touching, then Kali sat down next to me with Nico by her side. Kaliger smiled at everyone.

"Hey Ebin, Kiban. How you have guys been?" She asked. Kibania shrugged and made an 'eh' sound.

"Fine, I suppose. Ebinio and I have been working on our English. Mother says we will have to use it properly to prove our citizenship." She had a strong Spanish accent that I had always loved. I nodded, Kibania and Ebinio were always having trouble with the law since their mother came to America illegally, but they had been born here. Nico left to go order food and Kaliger and Kibania got to talking about a variety of things from animals to boys, not that there was much difference. I glanced at Ebinio, who was still pressed up against me since Kali hadn't moved. He smiled at me and leaned to my ear.

"Is this cozy, Crystal?" He whispered with a Spanish accent, his breath tickling my ear. We were just friends, but that didn't stop the cold chills up my spine when he practically purred my name. I smiled and shoved him gently.

"Stop messing around, Ebin. You know I'm not interested in you that way." He smiled again and nodded.

"Yes, I know, but my offer still stands." I chuckled slightly and zoned back into Kali and Kiban's conversation.

"…and he was like 'Fine! I don't want to see you anymore anyway!' and she was like 'Fine!' So, he left and later he found out she had been cheating on him with his best friend!"

"No way!" Kiban exclaimed in what I could have sworn was fake surprise.

"Yeah, and so I went to her after I found out and was like 'Why would you cheat on him, he's a good guy.' and she tried to tell me that was just a rumor and I was like 'Yeah, right.' So, I stopped talking to her after a while, but the last I heard, they were back together again!"

"Oh my goodness, that is ridiculous." Kiban rubbed her hand over her face to show pity for this anonymous girl they spoke of. Thankfully, Nico came back with the food before Kaliger could get started again. We ate, talked, and laughed for a while. It felt so good to be together as a group again outside of school. Apart from having to shove Ebinio off of me a few times when he tried to, as he said, 'get a bite of my pizza', the night was pretty much perfect. When we were all done and out of things to talk about, we all left and went our separate ways. Nico left with Ebin and Kiban so he didn't have to go home and Kali and I climbed in my Camaro and headed back to my house with the radio blasting 98 Rock. By the time we pulled into the garage, we were laughing and singing along to Bullet in my Hand. Before I turned the car off, I glanced at the clock and cursed.

"What is it?" Kaliger asked, still laughing a bit. I pointed at the clock and her green eyes widened. It read 11:30 pm. I shut the car off and we quietly snuck in through the garage door. I wasn't supposed to be driving past eleven on Fridays and over the weekend, so I was hoping thirty minutes wouldn't hurt much. Kali and I hurried up the stairs, past my mom's closed door, and straight into my room, shutting my door quietly behind us. We immediately got changed and I set up some blankets on the floor for Kaliger, where she fell asleep right away. I climbed into my bed and pulled the covers over me, letting my mind catch that little dream train as soon as my head hit the pillow.


End file.
